After being announced in late-February, BBM finally landed in Windows Phone Store earlier this week. The messaging app is not yet generally available though, as it was published as a private beta. But BlackBerry is giving impatient BBM fans and prospective users the opportunity to join an "external" testing program.

Ahead of the public release, BlackBerry also showcases what the first BBM iteration can do on Windows Phone. First off, the Canadian maker has designed the app so it feels and looks, per BlackBerry's own words, like a native Windows Phone offering. That is a significantly different approach to what it has done with BBM for Android and iOS, both of which look much like the BlackBerry OS counterpart.

Continue reading →

An international operation involving law enforcement and private sector organizations has been set up to combat the Shylock banking trojan. Shylock, which gets its name because the code contains lines from Shakespeare's The Merchant of Venice, is thought to have infected at least 30,000 Windows computers worldwide.

To date Shylock has targeted the UK more than any other nation so the country's National Crime Agency (NCA) is coordinating the international effort. This also includes the FBI, Europol, BAE Systems Applied Intelligence, GCHQ, Dell SecureWorks, Kaspersky Lab and the German Federal Police.

Continue reading →

Yahoo has developed a GPS algorithm that allows users to select a route based on how beautiful it is, instead of time or distance.

Yahoo Labs and the University of Torino conducted the Shortest Path to Happiness study in order to offer "emotionally pleasant" routes to users.

Continue reading →

Cloud storage is an increasingly popular way of storing and sharing data, but when using public services there's always a concern about how safe your information is.

But now a new startup aims to provide controlled sharing of data via an intelligent private cloud network. Sher.ly integrates your existing hard drives into a private, tightly controlled cloud network. Rather than have to send out open links to files or share copies across a public cloud, organizations and individuals can have the security of invite-only, limited-access file-sharing that keeps data on the devices that produced it.

Continue reading →

The ability to print directly from the cloud or a mobile phone or tablet creates obvious advantages, helping to make everyday business activities much more efficient. Ease of access, however, also creates security challenges that businesses must overcome in order to help keep sensitive information safe.

In a recent Dell global security survey, nearly three quarters of the organizations questioned said that they had suffered a security breach at some point. And security isn't just an issue for large corporations; no matter how big or small your business is, you'll definitely have information on file that needs to be kept safe. This could be personal data, bank details, or even a simple contacts database.

Continue reading →

"Imagine a world where you can interact with a digital device just by thinking about the content you want -- that's the world we're building", enthuses This Place CEO Dusan Hamlin.

This might sound like a feature of the distant future or cutting-edge technology straight from a sci-fi film. But this is exactly what 'This Place' has created in its innovative new app called MindRDR (pronounced 'mind-reader'). Combining NeuroSky's Mindwave Mobile -- an EEG biosensor that has a contact point with the user's temple and monitors changes in the user's brainwaves -- and Google Glass, this app could be the next stage in merging wearable technology with telekinetics.

Continue reading →

Chrome OS is an awesome, albeit limited, Linux-based operating system. It is a pleasure to use for most things, including writing, but it is hard to use exclusively. Just recently, I needed a Windows machine to achieve root access on an Android tablet -- a Chromebook proved useless for this task (Surface Pro 3 saved the day).

My biggest complaint however, is not about the software, but the hardware. For some reason, manufacturers largely produce junk Chromebooks with ugly screens and 2GB of RAM. Believe it or not, there is a market for mid-range computers running Google's OS. Not everyone is just looking to Chromebooks as a way to save a buck. Today, Acer releases the world's first Core i3 Chromebook, featuring 4GB of RAM as an option. This may be the Chromebook we've been waiting for!

Continue reading →

Seventh in a series. I ask because the user experience can't be this bad. Can it?

My "Microsoft All-In" experiment continues, and on Day 10 I must finally gripe about Xbox Music, which experience on Windows Phone 8 is pretty good, while the desktop app really sucks. I've got Pass, which should be as much about music discovery as streaming. I see some of both, but nowhere as much as core competing services, on Nokia Lumia Icon, while Surface Pro 3 disappoints. If I'm missing something, please correct my perception and also assist anyone considering Xbox Music.

Continue reading →

I know it’s a little crazy to talk about how well a future operating system will do, especially when Windows 9 hasn’t even been officially announced yet. But we do already know a fair bit about Windows 8.1’s successor and that, I think, is enough to build a reasonable case.

Windows 8.x is a flop. As much as I love it, I’m a realist. The operating system has taken 20 months to grab just 12.54 percent market share. Windows Vista, the previously used example of a failed OS, was at 19.82 percent in the same time frame. Windows 7, which followed Vista, has been a great success, and there’s every reason to think Windows 9 will do much, much better than Windows 8.x has.

Continue reading →

Apple has rolled out iTunes 11.3, the latest update to its popular media tool for Mac and Windows. Version 11.3, which is also available as a separate 64-bit build for Windows, extends its iTunes Extras feature to HD movies.

iTunes Extras include additional featurettes -- some of which may be interactive -- to accompany movies, such as behind-the-scenes documentaries, director’s commentary and high-resolution image galleries.

Continue reading →

It has been a year since Google released its Chromecast -- a "one last thing" sort of device that was hidden behind the new Nexus 7 announcement. The tiny HDMI dongle has been steadily gaining features, making it compatible with an ever-growing number of services.

But one thing it lacked seemed rather basic -- Android screen mirroring. While we don't know how this slipped through the Google cracks, it has finally made its debut.

Continue reading →

Allowing employees to use their own devices is an increasingly popular trend, but BYOD opens up security threats that can leave company data vulnerable. A new survey commissioned by security specialists Webroot looks at the reality of mobile security.

In particular it focuses on the difference in perception between companies and employees when it comes to securing mobile devices. Whilst there are some areas of agreement there are also signs that some employees don't take adequate steps to protect company data.

Continue reading →

Crystal methamphetamine usage is rampant in the United States. Truth be told, I never knew much about the drug before seeing the TV show "Breaking Bad". Lately though, it has been very prominent in the news. Apparently, the drug destroys lives and families and ultimately leads the abuser to ruin and chaos.

However, drug abusers aside, all people can be negatively impacted by the drug's creation. You see, this drug is artificial and must be created or "cooked", in a laboratory. Often, these makeshift labs are located in homes and produce dangerous chemicals which can cause negative health issues. Even after the lab is moved from a home, the chemicals may be in carpets, walls and ventilation systems. In other words, you may buy or rent a home that was previously used as a meth lab and have no idea. Today, the Indiana Office of Technology announces that it is using the internet to alert residents if a home has been used to cook meth.

Continue reading →

Binary Fortress Software has announced the release of ShellSend 2.0, the latest edition of its free tool for sending emails from the command line.

The new build adds an extra parameter which specifies the email body text, rather than pointing the program at a separate text file.

Continue reading →

Microsoft's Mobile division just released Video Tuner, a new Windows Phone 8.1 app that gives users the ability to quickly edit videos right on their smartphones. The free offering is a Nokia Lumia-exclusive, at least for now, meaning that some platform users will be unable to install it.

Microsoft says Video Tuner offers "basic, yet powerful" tools, which include mundane ones like crop, flip, mirror, rotate, speed change and trim, as well as more advanced features like the option to add a soundtrack and tweak the sound level.

Continue reading →